Category Archives: Opinion

An Open World Star Wars Game

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Via Culturedvultures.com:

If you guys are anything like me then these next ten months are going to be torture as we wait for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi to be released. The hype will slowly build with teasers and trailers and click bait articles about how this person dies or how that person is still alive etc. and fans will slowly go crazy the closer to the date we get.

In the meantime, as my fix from Rogue One starts to drain away, there is a nice gap that could be filled with an amazing new Star Wars game. Of course Battlefront 2 is expected to come out this year but there is definitely clamour for something different. We have Visceral’s upcoming Star Wars game but that won’t be released until 2018 and that’s even further than the next film. I think it would be cool to discuss the kind of things they could do with it, though.

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12 Star Wars Characters Who Deserve A Spin-Off Movie

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Via Gamesradar.com:

With Disney now owning Star Wars, the gates are open for the all sort of potential future adventures on top the upcoming The Last Jedi. We’ve already had Rogue One and next up there’s the Han Solo movie. But where next? It’s a world rich with potential characters and probably not the one’s you’re thinking of. A Yoda movie might sound cool but, realistically, that’s never going to happen – in what universe is a film starring a three-foot green martial arts space wizard getting signed off (although we have a solution at number 9, if you’re interested?) It’s the same for characters like Princess Leia, Chewie, and the droids. They might be fan favourites but much of their story is told, and there isn’t enough left to support an entire film. No, there are better choices out there that would make amazing Star Wars movies. Let’s take a look.

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Star Wars Rebels

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Via Comicbook.com:

When we left off in Star Wars Rebels, Sabine had finally revealed her backstory to the crew, and had learned how to wield the darksaber. That ancient black lightsaber belonged to her ancestory, the first Mandalorian Jedi, and was a symbol of uniting power for the Mandalorian people for generations, and now it’s in the possession of Sabine Wren. In the return of the series this Saturday Februay 18 at 8:30 p.m. on Disney XD, Sabine takes the darksaber back to her people to recruit them to the Rebel cause. That means we’re going to Mandalore, right? Not so fast…

“We might be going somewhere unexpected,” actress Tiya Sircar, the voice of Sabine, teased to ComicBook.com. She was checking with Lucasfilm PR about whether it was too much of a tease, but after being assured she could say it, added, “Where we’re going might not be where you think we’re going.”

Fans were assuming that the crew of the Ghost was heading to Mandalore, the traditional seat of power of the Mandalorian people, but it sounds like we’ll be going to another one of their planets. That could have something to do with the devastating Imperial weapon that Sabine revealed she helped design, and was turned on her people. It’s interesting to see more of the former Mandalorian empire, one of the few individual cultures that’s not a crime family that actually expanded out into other planets and even systems. We’ve seen the decimated Concord Dawn, of course, and saw Mandalore and the moon Concordia on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. So is another location coming? It sure sounds like it.

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The Imperial Trilogy?

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Via Retrozap.com:
When partnered with Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, does Rogue One create a new trilogy?

The Imperial Trilogy

Rogue One recently arrived in theaters last month and thrilled audiences. The tale of how the Rebellion came to possess the plans to the dreaded Death Star claimed its spot as one of 2016’s most successful films. Naturally, fans begin to compare Rogue One to the other films in the franchise. Beyond the story elements, how does it fit in? Star Wars already has two trilogies, and the ongoing sequel trilogy adds a third. In my experience, older fans gravitate to the original trilogy. Newer, and usually younger fans, frequently prefer the prequel trilogy. It remains to be seen where the sequel trilogy ranks. Rogue One, of course, is not a saga film. However, it is connective tissue between the prequel and the original trilogies. Many people have suggested that it creates a new trilogy when combined with Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

It is an intriguing idea. But, does such a trilogy work? Certainly, there are shared story elements. However, are there common themes between the three movies that adequately tie them together? Through an analysis of themes and elements, the viewer can judge for themselves whether these three movies create a new and successful Imperial Trilogy.

The Lack of One Cohesive Story

The Imperial Trilogy does not tell one entirely cohesive story across all three films. Revenge of the Sith is the story of the fall of the Republic and the triumph of the Sith. Rogue One relates the tale of a band of Rebels. These Rebels embark on a suicide mission to secure the plans for the Empire’s doomsday weapon. It is a war story and a tragedy. A New Hope is the purest adventure tale of the three. It is complete with a princess locked away in a stronghold and a reluctant hero scooped up in a quest to save her.

The tone of A New Hope doesn’t blend as well with the earlier two films. Despite moments of loss, this movie ends with a resounding victory for the heroes. In fact, two of the heroes receive medals from the very Princess they rescued after destroying the Empire’s ultimate weapon to the applause of all those assembled. By comparison, Revenge of the Sith ends with the Republic thoroughly defeated and the heroes, what is left of them in hiding. Rogue One depicts a victory for the Rebellion, albeit a victory secured at great cost. None of the protagonists survive.

The previous trilogies tell a more unified story. The original trilogy tells the story of Luke’s ascension to Jedi Knighthood and the ultimate defeat of the Empire. The redemption of Vader, a man believed to be irredeemable by nearly all, is a central theme. In addition, the prequel trilogy tells the story of the fall of the Republic, the Jedi, and most importantly Anakin Skywalker to the dark side. Combined these two trilogies comprise the “Saga.” Rogue One doesn’t contribute so much to that story as it does to a single film, A New Hope.

Best ‘Star Wars’ Storylines of 2016

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Via Hollywoodreporter.com:

Yes, there was more than just ‘Rogue One,’ and here’s the best of what happened in a galaxy far, far away this year.
Sure, in many ways, Rogue One dominated 2016, from much-anticipated (and dissected) trailers and promotion, through reports of reshoots and trouble, to the Dec 16. release of the finished movie. But it was far from the only story from a galaxy far, far away to get released over the past 12 months.

Indeed, with multiple prose and comic book spinoffs from the Star Wars movie franchise — not to mention animated spinoffs in the form of Star Wars: Rebels and LEGO Star Wars — there was all manner of space opera available to fans who longed for lightsabers, derring-do and space battles in whatever mix was available. With so much on offer, how can a casual observer find the best Star Wars of the year? It’s easy. Just read on.

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What’s a Star Wars Film Without John Williams?

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Via Theatlantic.com:

Star Wars was already deeply embedded in American pop culture by the time I was a kid. There were numerous video games, toys, comics, spin-offs, and an entire new trilogy of films by my twelfth birthday, and characters like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Han Solo had long been cultural icons. The villains of my youth were imitating shadows of the Dark Side, clad in capes and cybernetics, and the heroes were paler imitations of the didactic duos of Obi-Wan and Luke.

In the 39 years the franchise has been in existence, creator George Lucas has had a lot of help in its success and integration into popular culture. Of course, there are the actors themselves, and the legions of mimics in science fiction and fantasy. But for me, perhaps the most singular contribution has come from the legendary composer John Williams, of Jaws, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park fame. Williams’s music has been as vital to my love of Star Wars as have light sabers and giant weapons with rather conspicuous weaknesses. So when I found out that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story would be the franchise’s first live-action film without Williams at its center, I was apprehensive.

What’s a Star Wars film without John Williams? It’s a hard question to answer when you consider the careful, virtuoso work he’s done to flesh out and develop a universe of figures and knotted allegiances. Williams’s composing hand and the London Symphony Orchestra’s strings, for instance, turn a wordless moment in the original Star Wars film into a profound contemplation of power and self-realization. The leitmotif has come to symbolize Luke and the Force, and is arguably one of the most recognizable seven-note sequences in American music. Luke’s father Darth Vader and the Empire he represents, on the other hand, are driven by timpani, staccato strings, and boisterous brass, in a theme that has become so associated with power that sports antiheroes and would-be villains use it.

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10 Best Star Wars Games

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Via Venturebeat.com:
With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hitting theaters last week, we have that galaxy far, far away on our brains, and that led us to suss out the top 10 best games from that franchise during our weekly GamesBeat Decides podcast on Monday.

You can see how we came to our conclusion by clicking play on the clip above. As you’ll find while watching our deliberations, we take this process seriously. In the end, we came up with a list of 10 Star Wars games that most of us don’t hate. That includes shooters from every era of gaming, a few flight sims, and even a game based on Episode I: The Phantom Menace. May The Force forgive us.

[These decisions where made in the absence of managing editor Jason Wilson, who has more experience with Star Wars games than these three knuckleheads combined. Jason regrets editing instead of podcasting this week, and he’s planning on firing the lot of them after seeing the entire X-Wing series left off the list — Ed.]

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How Many Star Wars Movies Is Too Many?

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Via theverge.com:

We’re less than three weeks away from a new Star Wars movie — Rogue One will be our second in two years — and if all goes to plan, we should be getting Episode VIII next December. Growing up with the expanded universe and, latterly, the prequels, I never thought we’d get to this point. To a young me, Star Wars movies were scaffolding, a fossilized skeleton on which to hang other stories told by book, comic, or video game.

George Lucas tried to breathe new life into that skeleton at the turn of the millennium, but the prequels ended up feeling like a funeral for the body of Star Wars, marking a time the films should be buried. But Disney and J.J. Abrams exhumed that corpse again last year, imbuing it with movie magic and making Star Wars movies feel fresh again. Now the franchise’s new owners promise a swathe of new films, starting with Rogue One, and following up with a range of spinoffs.

It’s certainly an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan, but I’m also a little worried. If Rogue One fails, then Disney has indicated that it may dial back production on spinoffs and standalone movies. But if it succeeds — and most evidence so far indicates that it will — then we could be getting a Star Wars movie every year from now until end of time. That’s fine for a while, because the Star Wars galaxy has a surfeit of memorable characters on which to draw, but what comes after Disney has exhausted the series’ main characters? Once Boba Fett, Wedge Antilles, and Mon Mothma get their own movies?

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“The Prequels Strike Back: A Fan’s Journey” – Star Wars Documentary

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Via Ministry Of Cinema on youtube:

Nearly two decades after the release of Star Wars: Episode I, Star Wars fans still heatedly debate the merits and the shortcomings of the controversial prequel films that brought to the world Jar Jar Binks, Darth Maul, midichlorians, and a purple lightsaber.

Unsure what to make of the films, a Star Wars fan treks across country interviewing dozens in search of answers. Are the prequel films masterpiece or disaster? Is George Lucas an inconsistent hack or a champion of a singular vision? And most important of all, is there a way to bring balance to the dark and light sides of fandom? As our hero discovers, much to learn, he still has.

The Prequels Strike Back was made possible through the generous contributions of time and money from fans all across the world. What resulted was a documentary that Star Wars fans deserved.